Here are more tips on photo-taking ethics. As I’ve said in previous posts, you just can’t go shooting at random people with your camera! I shall attempt in giving a few tips on how to be polite when taking photographs especially of people when you’re in one of your globe trotting adventures!
Now, read carefully. Before photographing children, it is best if you ask permission from an adult. Better if the child’s parent is present. Probably too bothersome but this is a very delicate situation, and you need to treat it as such. There are varying child pornography laws in different countries and you can never be too careful lest you be accused of taking perverse pictures of children. Foreigners are considered suspicious entities, remember that. I have a photographer friend who carries release forms wherever he goes to avoid hassle – that’s how careful he is.
There are still ethics involved in taking pictures especially those of unknown subjects in of different cultures while traveling n another country. You can�t just go shooting at random people with your camera! In this series of posts, I shall attempt in giving a few tips on how to be polite when taking photos.
When in Rome� it�s a clich�, an old saying but nevertheless true. It doesn�t mean that because you�re a guest in a strange country, you are already excused from social faux pas. Personally, I find it essential to do a little research on the culture of the people of the country I�m visiting. Sometimes, I even learn a few (guidebook) phrases in their language. A little understanding endears me to people and it also keeps me from getting into very uncomfortable situations. And don�t you think that if you know your subject better culturally, then you tend to have a better perception of it aesthetically? Haha, maybe it�s just me talking but this one never fails me.
Let’s take a break from editing and focus on picture taking. Whether you are an amateur or professional photographer, there are still ethics involved in taking pictures especially those of unknown subjects in of different cultures while traveling n another country. You can’t just go shooting at random people with your camera! In this series of posts, I shall attempt in giving a few tips on how to be polite when taking photos.
Always ask permission. If a person or a small group of people are the main subjects of your photo, it is best to politely ask for permission. It depends though on the situation. Sometimes a mere smile and a simple gesture to your camera is enough but there are times that you really have to be verbal about it. Most people are actually accommodating but if someone says no, then just thank them despite of it and move on. Try to be sensitive about the vibes people give off as sometimes there are those who say yes but do it out of politeness. If you’re taking a picture of that encompasses a very large group like a parade, you don’t have to ask permission. This time, you can get away with clicking on!
There is one easy way to turn a photo in color into a classic black-and-white. Although I must warn you that there is limited control for the final image by doing the process that I will describe here.
Open your image editor. Click on Image on the menu bar. Then click on Mode. Then click on Grayscale. Lastly, click OK. And that�s it. Like I said, control is limited with regards to the black and white features of the photo. Though what you can do is to adjust the brightness of the photo.
Ahh� this is my favorite editing tool. There was a time when I had to put texts in graphics for this graphic novel gig I did before. Anyway, this editing tool is easily spotted in the tool palette as they are represented by the letter A or the letter T. I simply click on the tool icon and click on the photo where a cursor will appear. I then type in the text, adjusting the font and size as I wish. I just click on the Move tool if I want to re-position the text.
Vector is a term used in a graphic design. Its original context is SVG which stands for Scalable Vector Graphics. Scalable means even if you try to resize it, be it smaller or larger, the quality of the image or the pixels, will not be affected or deteriorated. It will still be the same, compared to Bitmap, that when you resize it, the quality is subjected to change resulting to blurry image. Vector is applicable to Logo designs and the like because if in case you needed to resize them for future use, you are completely able to do so. The quality will remain intact. The drawback in using vector is that it is not as fine as bitmap images or photographs do. Because vectors contain selectable regions only, meaning it is limited. In vector, the other detail such as fineness or color is not enriched or vivid compared to bitmap. Though you can manually achieve it, it will require you to go on pixel by pixel editing.
If we want to enhance an image by editing there are countless ways on how to do it. This is what we call as Post-Processing. What’s next are some basic , frequently used steps to manipulate and process digital images. Just a reminder, work on a replica of an original image so if in any case you mess up, just make another copy of the original and do the editing again.
If you wish to display a photo on a website, you need to enhance it a little further. It’s good not to over do the editing, since the photo may look unnatural and it can lose some detail. You always have the “undo” command if you don’t like the change you made.
Many of us who don’t want to be constantly fiddling with the tiny buttons of today’s digital cameras often get some shots that are, well, less than perfect. Most cameras today have automatic settings, adjusting everything automatically without much need for fiddling but one good tip for good, crisp and clear shots is to ensure your camera moves less during shots especially during low light settings where the flash may not have enough power to illuminate the subject. You can choose to set the camera for low light pictures but this is more for steady subjects that don;t move a round too much. Read the rest of this entry » »
For newbies to photediting ang manipulation, here are the few basic steps you need to get familiar with:
the cropping icon
1. Cropping. This refers to removing only the part of the picture you want. Even the most basic programs like paint have them. The icon with the rectangular broken lines or the square with the extended sides stands for the cropping tool.
2. Rotating. For photos taken vertically. Even the Windows photoviewer gives the option to rotate counterclockwise or clockwise.
3. Resizing. This is where you make the picture smaller – which is what you should do when you’re only using them for the web. High resolution images are only useful if you want to print them in large formats.
4. Enhancing brightness and contrast.
This is a bit trickier, but once you find the adjustment bar in whatever software you’re using, you can darken or lighten pictures at you liesure.
Image source: www.mizjain.org
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